American Nihilism

Thank you for your service.... Now, go fuck yourself!

Everything is connected

How is the Ukraine linked to the Middle East?

Very simply, the Ukraine is an American war. And Israel's wars against Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iran are also American wars. No America. No war. Simple, right? America is the link.

Russia enters into the picture to the extent that it represents a new world order – a multipolar order, a kind of international democracy established on totally different premises from the neocolonial, neo-feudal, neoliberal, neofascist predation of the US, which has absorbed all previous empires, some by force as in the case of Nazi Germany, and some by "soft" but equally malignant subversion, building on the experience of to inverted totalitarianism at home, where people willingly surrender their minds to those who own the state and serve it.

Yeah, I know Marc Rubio says the US accepts “balance of power” —now—but, as Karl Sanchez wrote in a comment on MoA , “words are cheap”. And the conversion is suspiciously sudden.

What Rubio really means it that US will have sit on the geopolitical teeter totter all by itself at one end with Russia, China, Iran and the rest of the world on the other end. "Balance” does not mean “equality” or equal weight of individuals.

Amerika uber alles.

"Thank you for your service everyone!”

Other countries must serve the Fat Guy.

However, as I have written previously in special articles, all empires have finite lifespans, normally less than 200 years, the final stage of which is financialization, as the rulers of the Empire hoard wealth through predation, but the Empire itself is hollows out, empty of industry, innovation, civic values, moral purpose – and all the things that give a people power.

The “people” serve, is all.

Yes. "Thank you for your service everyone – now, go fuck yourself!"

Kipling got it right.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all: 
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. 
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace. 
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot; 
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; 
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

Yes, the last stage of Empire is the "fuck you" state.

That's Trump’s America. Also Biden's America. And Obama's. And Bush's. And Clinton's. It's a long list. It's just got more risibly visible lately, with the decline of American power and the rise of rivals – Russia, China, the Global South.

So now we see the US losing its long war against Russia, unable to create a coherent policy or strategy that would give it even 1% chance of success….

At first, Ukraine was its proxy. Now that proxy is Europe. But the weakness and failure of Ukraine and Europe together mirrors that of the US of A, which insists upon confrontation rather than collaboration or cooperation which would require equality or respect. In the end, the US will pick the bones of its “friends”.

American Dementia

America has lost the war against Russia. It is losing the trade war. It faces a major economic recession or downturn. But it continues to huff and puff—although it can’t remember exactly why or what the goal actually is.

The US is also in the process of losing its wars in the Middle East. The more people it kills in Gaza, on the West Bank, in Yemen, in Syria, and in Lebanon, the uglier the Ugly American becomes. Again, it’s doesn’t quite remember why it’s doing this. Just that it has to because it’s big & bad.

People in the Middle East see a different future. They know that time is on their side , and history too, as the hidden truth of it is suddenly remembered. Light a candle to the lessons of yesteryear.

American Nihilism

In Lebanon for example, the Israelis wanted a cease-fire so they get rebuild their forces and attack Syria. The Americans brokered the deal, knowing it wasn't a real cease-fire at all – not any more than the cease-fire in Gaza after that was. The Israelis violated that fake cease-fire from Day One in Lebanon – just as they later did in Gaza – and the Americans enabled them.

Americans do not break their promises. They just forget—the ultimate nihilism—as Emmanuel Todd would have it.

The Lebanese people suffered, and they knew who to blame and also who to trust.

In the Lebanese elections, Hezbollah won every seat that it sought— proving once again that it had the support of the Lebanese people, who know better than to trust the craven and corrupt official government of Lebanon.

The cease-fire was timeout for the Israelis to rebuild their forces, but also for Hezbollah. With Syria in turmoil deliveries of weapons slowed at first. but new routes were established and more advanced weaponry began to arrive from Iran: as time goes on Hezbollah is building a much more potent force.

Israelis do murder and assassination but that does not win wars. Rather it creates martyrs. Martyrs create resistance.

What wins the war is is not leaders but the motivation of the people from whom those leaders are selected and the ideas and principles those leaders express.

That was the lesson of Yemen's successful war against the Saudis and now its successful war against the US and Israel. The US believed it once too — but no longer remembers.

If Yemen can defeat the US, Iran has no fear of the US attacking them, certainly not with Russia and China in its corner. In the areas that count, air defenses, anti-stealth and missile technology Iran has all the advantages.

So the US will continue to huff and puff and try to buy off the oil states with devalued currency, not only dollars but the more important currency of trust.

In 1990, the US had no rivals. There was no balance of power – all power rested with the US alone. Now is different.

The US has fucked itself.

Owls….

Yes, I am very fond of owls. I had an owl like this — a pygmy owl that knocked itself out on my window. I took it to the local zoo who were better suited to meet its needs and help it recover - which it did and was released into the wild. Interestingly enough, the owl appeared to understand he was being helped.

I got offered a job at the zoo hospital. Now I am a night owl.

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